The Prior Auth Index
Independent prior authorization data
The Prior Auth Index
Independent analysis of prior authorization, built on a monthly-tracked dataset of payer publication status and reporting across U.S. health plans.
Created by Ashley Murray | Updated monthly | Last updated July 2026
Independent
Source-linked
Regularly updated
No payer sponsorship
Operational reporting
Latest Insight
When Independent Judgment Becomes Difficult to Verify
Iowa's House File 2635 doesn't just require documentation of a prior authorization denial, it requires that a clinician's independent judgment actually occurred before the decision was reached. That raises a harder question: what evidence would prove it did?
Read analysis โ†’August 2, 2026 ยท 5 min read
Explore tracked payer reporting profiles
Search monitored payer and plan reporting profiles, publication status, source-linked disclosures, and machine-readable reporting availability across tracked plans.
Browse all tracked plans โ†’
The Prior Auth Report
Get the monthly research brief
A monthly research brief on what's changing in prior authorization, and what it means operationally for leaders and the teams doing the work.
Understanding the dataset
How prior authorization reporting works, what this database tracks, and how to interpret published payer metrics across plans.
What is prior authorization?
Prior authorization is a requirement that clinicians obtain approval from an insurer before certain treatments, procedures, or medications are provided. The insurer reviews the request against applicable criteria and issues a determination. The Prior Auth Index tracks public reporting related to this process, including approval rates, denial rates, decision timelines, appeal outcomes, and source availability.
Purpose and scope

Prior authorization reporting is now subject to public disclosure requirements under CMS-0057-F. Publication status alone does not establish usability, comparability, or completeness.

Plans report in different formats, at different URLs, with inconsistent definitions and varying levels of granularity. The result is a fragmented public dataset that requires source mapping, normalization, and review before it can be interpreted across plans.

The Prior Auth Index maps source locations, tracks publication status, summarizes available metrics, and identifies limitations in usability and comparability.

Who this is for

The Prior Auth Index is built for people who need to understand prior authorization from both angles; the published data and the operational reality behind it:

  • Revenue cycle and utilization management teams tracking payer reporting patterns and operational shifts
  • Consultants and analysts researching prior authorization trends across markets
  • Healthtech operators evaluating payer infrastructure and emerging vendor patterns
  • Payer strategy and contracting teams reviewing plan-level metrics and regulatory movement
  • Journalists and researchers studying prior authorization patterns
  • Anyone who wants the monthly analysis without digging through the raw filings themselves
Mapping prior authorization reporting patterns as the public dataset matures.
Plan-level prior authorization metrics
Denial rates, appeal overturn patterns, and published 2025 metrics across major U.S. health plans, with source-linked disclosures and plan-level reporting context.
2025 metrics
Source-linked disclosures
Plan-level comparisons
View Metrics โ†’